Hey yall!
(Ok, so... Africans aren’t use to my deep east Texas lingo… I can’t tell you how many times I have said “yall” or “ain’t” or used the word “Mam” (i.e. Yes Mam, or Mam?—when I’m confused) in conversation… I always just get a smile and a puzzled look on the face of the person I am talking to. However, I did teach one of my friends here (who is 5 years old) to say “hey yall!” when greeting people. You might be able to take the girl out of Texas, but you ain’t never gonna be able to take Texas out of the girl :) )
I am living in Sogakope (which is in the Volta region) and have begun my assignment with the trokosi, but I have been returning to the children’s home (about a 3 hour journey) on the weekends to see those incredible kids. Since I have been here in Sogakope, it has been a constant battle. Not a battle of flesh and blood; but a battle of principalities, of powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). The enemy has intentions to spoil any work that the Lord plans to do here. But let me tell you, I have my Armor on (Ephesians 6:10-20) and I am ready to go down fighting.
I was talking with a man one day in a nearby village and he told me that he was a Christian. I went on to ask him what he believed about Jesus Christ and he told me that he thinks he had heard of Jesus but didn’t know anything about Him. It turns out that the man was a part of a cult. The members of this cult are told by their leader that they are Christians, but they really worship satan and other idols. They have a “bible”, but it is not the Word of God. This cult is very wicked and very deceptive, the people in this cult have no clue that they will go to hell. They are being told by their leader that they are Christians and that they will go to a type of heaven when they die… I was able to share the Gospel with him, but he was not ready to accept it. He said he was not bold enough yet. Please keep this man (and the rest of the people deceived in this cult) in your prayers.
There are so many different religions and practices here, it can be quite confusing and hard to keep up with. The real heartbreaking thing is how some churches claim to be Bible-believing and Christ-following but are preaching and teaching things contrary to the Bible. You will hear a lot about the prosperity gospel here (do this and you will be rich, or raise your hands and receive the blessings and you will have a plentiful crop and will inherit much cattle) and there is also many teachings on how good works will get you to Heaven…
One day last week I was working on a Bible study and was searching the Scripture for answers to some tough questions some of the trokosi women asked, and my little buddy (the girl I taught to say “hey yall”) just came and plopped her cute little self next to me on the ground. And just stared at me. So, I got a few childrens books out and we began reading about the great adventures of Yogi Bear. As we were reading and laughing together, I heard another voice laughing from behind. It was my little friend’s mother, Comfort. Comfort is a 23 years old, single mother and has become someone I can now call my friend. Comfort has softened to me since her 5 yr old daughter and I have become bff’s, and this particular day she seemed to have something on her mind. After finishing our book, I looked down to see my little friend asleep in my lap. So, Comfort and I began talking. She asked me right away, “Sister Hannah, how many times should I pray each day? I hear the Muslims and they pray several times each day, no matter what they are doing—they will stop to pray. Why do Christians not do the same? Don’t you think God is disappointed?” And this was the beginning of our two and a half to three hour conversation. We walked through Scripture and read Scripture specifically about how the life of a believer should look. We also talked about how Satan has come and deceived and has lead many astray. We talked about how sin and false teaching have come into the church and have completely destroyed the foundation. Now, there are almost no standards (in most Ghanaian churches, at least) and people who are very new believers (or maybe not a true believer at all) become pastors (or teachers) of churches…
Comfort is very discouraged because even some churches that claim to be Bible-believing, preach and teach contrary to Scripture. She told me of a church that she was attending for a while, and she said that the pastor got up and preached from the Bible every Sunday. He prayed for the sick, and many times they would be healed. He appeared to be a devout follower of Christ. However, after some time, she found out that this pastor was also going to the shrine to pray to idols and that is where he was receiving his power to heal. Stories like this are all too common here. It is quite rare to hear someone talk about the Bible and Christ and have solid beliefs. People are being fed lies and are left lost or confused, without knowing it.
So what is the problem? Why is the body of Christ not what it should be? Why are Christians falling apart and looking more and more like the world? Why do people like Comfort feel compelled to search other religions because she’s scared of all the false teachings going out? Why is it that our lives look so incredibly different from that of Jesus Christ? I am not just talking about people in Ghana, West Africa, but about people in America (and all over) as well.
Revelation 2:4 “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”
The problem is that we have forgotten… We get so distracted, that we forget what is important and what we are here to do. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, your purpose is to glorify God—to love Him and to love each other and to make disciples of Christ.
I beg you, please, search your heart… Where is it? There is a big problem… The longer Christians allow sin to be amongst us and go about our lives seeking comfort and our selfish ambitions while avoiding all hardship, we are feeding deeper into the plan of the enemy. The longer we sit in our ignorance of Scripture and allow ourselves to remain babes in Christ, we are living contrary to Scripture. And when we live and talk against how the Lord has commanded us to live, we are leading others astray. Being the Body of Christ is not about how attractive the church looks, about how good you feel, about how many times a week you are in a church building, or about who is up-to-date on their tithes (although those things are not necessarily bad things)—it is about coming together in the love and power given to us by the blood of Jesus Christ and proclaiming the Gospel of Christ to those who are perishing. So many are going to die and go to hell and do not even know it…
Matthew 7: 21- 23 says, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven. But he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”
I think Comfort has a good point, I think God is disappointed. But not just that, I think He is heartbroken because we (His love) have left Him for another love. We have left Christ and have chased other things that make us more comfortable or make us feel accomplished and worthy. We have to repent of becoming something other than what we were created to be. We must return to our first love…
I am praying for you and I need you to pray for me... I realize more and more each day how I am absolutely nothing (and useless) without Christ. Pray that my knowledge of Scripture and my love for the Lord and others would grow daily.
Please pray for the Truth to come to these people and that they will embrace it. Please pray that the lies will be overcome with truth and that evil will be overcome with love. Pray for spiritual awakening and reawakening.
With all my love and gratitude,
Hannah
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